Re: More feed questions

[Susan Evans Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

Jerry & Mary Fields wrote:

> Susan,
> Why do you recommend NOT crimped oats? I thought they were more digestible
> than whole oats.

The digestibility is not improved by crimping the oats, but how fast
they start to go rancid does.  So the nutrient content stays highest if
you don't break the grain's outer hull until the horse bites into it.


> RE corn--I read in Equus about danger of toxins or molds in corn. Can one be
> sure it is safe?

Any kind of grain can get moldy, including aflatoxin, a particularly
nasty fungal toxin.  I think aflatoxin on corn is more common in one
particular part of the country but can't remember exactly where right
this second---someone else will probably know if its their area.  You
can never be absolutely, positively sure that grain is safe but very
often grain that's moldy or spoiled is poor quaity in other ways that
you can visually see.  The grains should be heavy for the volume, clean,
without alot of dust or chaff, smell good, be plump, not alot of broken
grains, no dark spots or dust.  Make sure there are no water spots on
the bag that indicate it got wet then dried out.  When you first rip
open the bag, take a good sniff---if it makes you sneeze, be
suspicious.  That goes for any type of grain.  I usually try hard to get
"heavy" oats, sometimes they're called racehorse oats, recleaned oats,
or Clydesdale oats.  That just means they're a top quality grain and
generally have been processed carefully.  No promises, but that goes for
anything in life.  Buy from a reputable dealer, try for grains from a
mills with a good name, make sure you're getting grain meant for horses
and never feed in the dark.

Susan G